After years of waiting, I was finally able to see Josh Krajcik sing live in Minneapolis on Sunday night. Although the crowd was rather small, it didn’t stop Josh from giving an amazing performance. He said that Minneapolis music fans were like no other fans anywhere and he’d rather play to a small crowd of fans who are into the music like we are in Minneapolis rather than playing to a large crowd of people who aren’t into the music at all. There was a gentleman taking video standing just to the right of me, and while I can detect my “WOOOO” from the crowd, I assure you I am not speaking during Josh’s performance of his song “Close Your Eyes” which is becoming a favorite of mine. Sweet yet powerful – I hope you enjoy:

Josh told us he doesn’t like to write set lists and tends to go with the flow, so it was our lucky break that Josh decided to sing us one of his funny songs but it’s still delivered with such an amazing vocal, it’s priceless:

And just because I think it’s too good not to share (and you can actually hear me shushing people), here is a double shot of Josh covering a pair of classics as only he can:

Special thanks to MrJrhoffman for getting this posted on youtube so quickly, and to Josh and Aaron for a great evening.

It’s been quite some time since I’ve done a political post, mostly because I’m burned out on politics, but a friend shared something with me today I feel is too important and inspirational not to share. I’ve had to call myself an Independent for some time now, but Senator Guilllory perfectly explaines why I can never go back to being a Democrat. I hope you’ll find it as thought provoking as I did:

I sincerely hope this Senator and Governor Jon Huntsman have a few meetings. I’d vote for a Huntsman-Guillory ticket any day. If the GOP would only listen to these men, then they’d find themselves back to being a majority party. Only time will tell if the GOP can turn itself around, but for the sake of our country, I hope they do.

Sure, I’ve featured Sharon Jones before, but yesterday I listened to her entire catalog and I seriously can’t get enough. If I liked Sharon before, I worship her now. This woman is a true powerhouse of soul. She was recently diagnosed with stage one bile duct cancer, but judging from her twitter account, she seems to be recovering. Hopefully that means the new album with the Dap-Kings will be released and the tour rescheduled. We here at OB&B certainly wish her the speediest of recoveries. In the mean time, I hope you enjoy this tasty ear candy sampling:

One of the television series I got hooked on last season was Nashville, which stars Hayden Panettiere and Connie Britton as rival country music stars. The music production for the show has managed to pull in an incredible amount of talent (including Elvis Costello) and I think this song is good proof of that. As soon as I heard “Wrong Song” on the show, it was instantly stuck in my head. If you like country music, but especially if you think you don’t, give this song a listen and see if you don’t agree it’s a hit no matter what genre you think you like:

I couldn’t wait until Monday for this song, because Dessa is too amazing not to share any time you feel like it. And the first single off her new album Parts of Speech is just that – amazing. You don’t have to take my word for it, just give it a listen and decide for yourself:

If you’re not already, I highly recommend following Dessa on Twitter: @dessadarling, and do not miss her if she comes to your town for a show. You won’t be sorry.

How is it possible so many songs are driving me wild this summer? I don’t know how, but I do know that this was another song that killed me from the first listen and it always gets me movin’ and groovin’ and I hope it does that for you too. Enjoy!

This week’s edition of Minnesota Music Monday has to come with a disclosure: I have know this band’s bass player for many years and consider him one of the most kind, considerate and genuine men I’m fortunate to know – Mr. Tony Zaccardi from the band Romantica. That being said, Romantica has found much local success, and for good reason. Front man Ben Kyle is an excellent songwriter and has surrounded himself with quality musicians (I’ll feature some of Ben’s recent solo week soon). For now, check out Romantica playing in the studios of The Current:

And these are two songs I enjoy off the 2012 2004 (Hat tip: Tony Zaccardi) album It’s Your Weakness That I Want. First is “Oscar Wilde” which I did indeed find “irresistible” and I hope you do too:

Since the very first moment I heard this a few weeks ago, I knew there was no way this song wasn’t going to drive me crazy all summer. I enjoyed Janelle’s last album, and I’m looking forward to Electric Lady this September. I hope you all enjoy this powerhouse lady partnering up with Wonder Woman Erykah Badu:

I hope you’re all in the mood for a bunch of music, because there are so many great new songs out at the moment I will be going on a sharing spree.

This song grabbed me upon first listen, and it’s gotten out of hand on this end, like hitting repeat dozens of times bad. This young lady, going by the name Lorde, hails from New Zealand and, amazingly enough, she’s only 16.

This is what she wrote when she published this video:

lately i’ve been waking up at 4 or 5 a.m., turning things over in my head. so much to think about, so much to break down and process and decide. i’m only at the beginning, but it has always been important to me that everything feels cool, feels right. this song means a hell of a lot to me, and to others, and i guess what i tried to do is make something you could understand. a lot of people think teenagers live in this world like ‘skins’ every weekend or whatever, but truth is, half the time we aren’t doing anything cooler than playing with lighters, or waiting at some shitty stop. that’s why this had to be real. and i’m at that particular train station every week. those boys are my friends. callum’s wearing a sweater that used to belong to me. so it all feels right, and i can sleep. thanks for being with me all the way so far — so much to come, such great heights. i’m just getting started. enjoy xx

I am certainly looking forward to what the future hold for this young lady. It looks very promising indeed.

Is there anyone more knowledgeable to speak about U.S.-Chinese relations than Jon Huntsman? I have to assume the answer is “no” considering Governor Huntsman is exactly who the New York Times went to before President Obama and new Chinese President Xi Jinping had a meeting last month. Gov. Huntsman provided a lot of interesting and thought-provoking answers concerning China, showing once again he is the leading foreign policy wonk of the GOP:

[NYT] What’s working and what isn’t working in our relationship with China right now?

[JH] Well, we’re up to $500 billion in trade. We were at zero 40 years ago. This relationship has come farther, faster than any relationship in humankind. We now have 200,000 students in this country — China just overtook India with the amount of students in America. You get the next generation learning in our schools, associating with Americans, better understanding our values. And they take that home — that’s a huge deal.

Our cooperation — however slow or difficult — on Iran and North Korea is way more stepped up today than it has been in the past, because our interests are more and more in line as the top two economies in the world.

We don’t have enough trust in the relationship to drill down to a level of granularity where you can, for example, talk about contingency planning on the Korean peninsula if you have a failed nation-state in the North. What do you do about the nukes? What do you do about refugees? What do you do about command and control? There isn’t a road map developed yet for that kind of thing, which to me should keep policy makers up at night. It did to me in Beijing.

It’s not the confrontation that I worry about — that’s way overblown. What concerns them is the same thing that concerns us, and that is an implosion on the Korean Peninsula by a crazy leader that unleashes uncertainty in a region that is now close to being 20 percent of the world’s G.D.P.

The NYT didn’t focus solely on China, however. They also asked him about domestic politics:

[NYT] Let’s go to U.S. politics. What does it say about the Republican Party that Michele Bachmann made a bigger splash in 2012 than you did?

[JH] Politics as theater. There’s a lot of entertainment value in politics, I’ve come to find. So if you want to talk about the big issues of the day and put forward a policy reform to deal with education, energy, foreign affairs, that doesn’t get the bounce or the altitude that the political theater does. If you want to call somebody a name, if you want to give a speech with crazy content — that will sell, and that will get you on the front pages of the newspaper.

And sadly, that’s where politics has become a little surreal and a little too focused on the entertainment side of things. It’s bad for the candidates and it’s really bad for the voters. The substance and the vision about where this country is going, rarely is that able to get to the surface.

The Governor could not be more correct. The state of American politics today is dreadfully slanted to “political theater” and partisans on both sides view “scoring points” to be more important than cooperation so that the business of the American people is managed. We can’t get a functional Washington until policy trumps partisan bickering. Thankfully, America has one politician willing to try to focus on policy over theater, and thankfully there are media outlets willing to give him increasing face time. Bravo to Gov. Huntsman on a very well done interview.

For those of you who need more context, I admit it. I’m an X Factor fan. I thought Season 1 saw the most promising talent ever collected on any of these various talent programs, and I believe many of them are going to go on to achieve great things. For example, the young man featured above. I believe he was the first rapper to make it on to one of these shows, and for good reason. For his first audition, he performed an original song that was both catchy, funny and endearing. The crowd loved it and you can see the glint of dollar signs in Simon Cowell’s eyes. Check it out:

Astro made it through the X Factor’s “boot camp” and onto auditions at the judge’s homes. Here, he delivered another amazing performance for judge L.A. Reid and Rihanna, highlighting his spittin’ skills, mixing in a bit of beat boxing and again using original lyrics.

In fact, Astro used his own original lyrics every week. Check out his cover of Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” and judge for yourself if this kid young man is the real deal:

Recently, I was talking to a friend about politics and thought he would be interested in the opinions and positions of Governor Jon Huntsman. That’s when I discovered this great interview Governor Huntsman did with the BBC. Discussing everything from China to what ails the Republican party, Jon does a great job, once again, of articulating his thoughts on current events, and it’s very much worth sharing and watching:

I love that he discusses how the party needs to reassess its priorities in the face of devastating losses in the demographic breakdowns. Additionally, he discusses the very real demographics threatening both parties: the growing number of Independents. When he said many Republicans don’t know where they belong these days, he’s speaking to me and countless others who have had enough of the GOP’s failure to focus on our most pressing concerns.

I find it very unfortunate that Governor Huntsman is given this amount of media time to fully articulate his positions… on a news program in the UK. Hopefully the American press will begin to give him the media time he deserves and the American people will discover there is still one political figure who speaks sense.

Sure, it’s been awhile since I’ve posted one of these, but I thought I’d make up for it by posting some of the cream of the local crop with the latest offering from one Mister Har Mar Superstar. My trusty co-blogger summed up his thoughts on this track with one word: Brilliant.

Not only is Har Mar incredibly talented, he’s also a pretty nice guy who will hand you a drink from behind the bar while patiently answering the same question the local DJ asked him an hour previously. (The answer both times: Stevie Wonder is his biggest musical influencer, as I think the last song demonstrates.) But I did get an answer to my most burning Har Mar question: How did he get Eva Mendez in his “Tall Boy” video? Answer: he just knows her, of course. Not only is Har Mar happy that Britney Spears passed on the song, but so am I. Would Brit’s video have been as cool? Doubtful. And let’s be honest. Har Mar can sing circles around her. But judge for yourself:

“Experience should teach us to be most on our guard to protect liberty when the government’s purposes are beneficent. Men born to freedom are naturally alert to repel invasion of their liberty by evil-minded rulers. The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding.”

Tubular Bells stands as arguably one of the greatest achievements in rock history -though it doesn’t really qualify as rock music, or pop, or jazz or anything else. It is pop-electronic music, perhaps part Philip Glass and part Pink Floyd/Genesis. But whatever it is, it is remarkable not only for the complexity of the two nearly 20 plus minute movements, but for the manner in which it was recorded -and who it was recorded by.

Mike Oldfield was 17 or 18 years old in 1971 when he wrote and recorded a demo of “Tubular Bells Part One“ nearly in its entirety. To do this he played every instrument and overdubbed each instrument on top of the last (to understand just how many instruments this is, listen to the track. This is no guitar-guitar-bass-drums setup. He is credited on the album with playing nearly 20 instruments). He was 19 years old in 1972 when he began recording the album for a new record label looking for a hit, Virgin Records. Once again he would play nearly all of the instruments on the album, save for the odd flute or voice.

The video below was filmed for the BBC in November of 1973 and features Mike Oldfield himself leading an all-star band through “Tubular Bells Part One”. Oldfield can be seen playing bass and guitar alongside Mick Taylor of the Rolling Stones, Mike Ratledge of Soft Machine, Pierre Moerlen and Steve Hillage from Gong, and other Canterbury Scene heavyweights. Soon after this performance and the attention generated by the album Mike Oldfield shied away from the limelight, preferring to write and record in the country. Enjoy!

Margaret Thatcher, one of the most important leaders of the 20th century died today at the age of 87.

We both grew up in the late seventies/early eighties. Far from being the monster that she was so often portrayed we both viewed her as an inspiring figure. We saw her as a leader in the old, and tragically long forgotten style. She was proof that a girl from the working class could grow up to become one of the great leaders of the free world during a critical time in history. She could beat men at what was still a man’s game (while receiving no credit from feminists for the unspeakable crime of not being on the left). We weren’t among the braying chorus that expected her to cause a nuclear war. As kids we looked to her to stop one.

We are not going to use the word “divisive” to describe Margaret Thatcher. That has been the media’s word of the day to get a subtle shot in at someone their editorial boards (and probably the writers themselves) loathed, while still pretending to be respectful. By saying “she” was divisive it places all of the blame on her, and not on some of her more irrational critics (of whom there were many). Margaret Thatcher was portrayed as the devil incarnate for a generation simply for being as strong on her side of the aisle as the other side wished their side could be on theirs.

Was she the perfect politician? Of course not. We have yet to see one here, there, or anywhere. But as the tributes pour in along with the expected venom from her enemies we would just like to pay our own respects to Margaret Thatcher from the perspective of a couple of kids in the eighties who grew up during the last stages of the Cold War. We felt more secure knowing that Margaret Thatcher was on our side. And we believe history has shown that she was correct about a great many things. Rest in peace, Lady Thatcher.

It’s been awhile since we’ve written at length about Jon Huntsman, and not without reason. After finishing in third place in the New Hampshire primaries, Jon withdrew from the nomination race and, frankly, our level of interest in politics withered. We knew that no other GOP contender could defeat President Obama, and knowing such, we both decided we’d be voting for Jon Huntsman as a write-in candidate, which we did. Last year we agreed that Governor Huntsman was the leader this country needed, so it should come as no surprise to our regular readers that we believe Governor Huntsman’s leadership is still needed by the GOP and America.

But it is now 2013 and the venue as well as the players have changed. Gone are the regular stump speeches in which Jon can outline his vision for America. Similarly absent are the cast of GOP characters providing their own counterpoint (though more regularly “fodder”) to Jon’s positions. In order to make a sorely needed “rebooted” GOP a reality Jon will need to make his case in different ways. And fortunately for us (as well as all Huntsman supporters) he is doing just that.

While it might seem cliché for a politician with major aspirations to write a book these days, we believe that a Huntsman book would not only offer obvious opportunities but it would also capture a unique opportunity that Jon himself has highlighted – the need for the party to lead with ideas.

While we think all of Governor Huntsman’s media appearances are great, we can’t help but feel a bit frustrated in that he isn’t sought even more by the media. While the media may now seek him for some insight into Asia or bi-partisanship, a book would allow Jon to channel the conversation to whichever subjects he desires and release himself from any media-imposed limits to topics on which he is more than qualified to speak. Additionally, a book would create an avenue for a media blitz, allowing Jon increased opportunities to be introduced to wider and wider audiences. Since the publishing process takes some time, the book could be released on a schedule best suited to Jon’s needs and impeccable sense of timing.

Naturally, we agree with Governor Huntsman when he says the party should lead with ideas, however we don’t see anyone at this point stepping up to the challenge. We believe this is a unique opportunity for any leader but especially in Jon’s case, and a book would serve as an ideal vehicle from which to seize this chance. A book format would allow Jon the space and time to elaborate on his policy ideas, both foreign and domestic; his record of success in Utah and how he would replicate that for America; and to define what we like to call “Huntsman Conservatism.” Television appearances and op-ed pieces simply can’t offer Jon this same level of exposure.

As more people see him on TV and reach for his book to learn more, Governor Huntsman would be able to grow the base. Far too many independent voters are former Republicans who feel the party no longer represents them. We believe a Huntsman book would appeal to these voters, and perhaps get them involved in the political process. Additionally, we believe a Huntsman book would appeal to centrists and Blue Dog Democrats as well, and thereby create a broad coalition of support for Jon to draw upon in his future endeavors.

In spite of the Presidential election we find ourselves in the same political environment that the candidates claimed needed fixing. Instead of embracing consensus to achieve common goals, our Congress has decided to dig in on both sides and ignore the will of the people, which is for compromise – to do something, anything, to improve the bleak financial future of the United States and to restore trust in the Legislative branch. The President has also steadfastly refused to compromise, treating it as a one way street in which neither he nor his party need to bother themselves, and so the level of trust in the Executive branch also suffers in the eyes of the American people. Democracy needs healthy, intelligent debate to survive, and with this current rate of partisan gridlock, it’s no wonder so many American’s feel the country is on the wrong track. While some players have changed, we remain convinced that there is no person on the Right better suited to promote sensible conservative ideas in a thoughtful, intelligent way than Jon Huntsman. (After all, Governor Huntsman was called “the Thinking Man’s Conservative“.) We also believe that “Huntsman Conservatism” highlights the most basic (and successful) elements of conservatism in partnership with science, tolerance, and limited government. Therefore, we believe America still needs Jon Huntsman – to continue to be a voice of reason, to promote healthy debate and to keep the party’s tent big.

The Institute of Politics announced on Thursday a spring roster of residential and visiting fellows that includes prominent politicians, journalists, and political advisors.

Former governor and presidential candidate Jon Huntsman, Jr., former U.S. Senator Timothy E. Wirth ’61, and CNN’s chief national correspondent John King will all spend several weeks on campus this semester as visiting fellows.

In this role they are expected to interact with student groups, host discussions, and attend public policy classes on campus.

“[The IOP] has always been the marquee political laboratory and discussion center,” King said. In his talks, King plans to highlight the changing American demographic.

The resident fellows will live on campus for the semester and lead weekly study groups during the spring term for undergraduates and members of the Harvard community.

This is great news and will most certainly add to Jon’s already impressive resume of achievements. As a Bostonian I look forward to attending any public discussions that he might host. Congratulations, and welcome to Boston, Governor Huntsman!

One of the best annual shows in Minneapolis is starting tonight – The Current‘s Birthday Party. Celebrating 8 years on the air, the Current likes to get a group of Minnesota artists on the stage for this event, and I could not be more excited for night one of two fantastic shows with amazing local talent. Tonight, we’ll begin with some John Mark Nelson:

Followed by the wonderful Chastity Brown:

Love that song. But the main course, for me at least, will be the helping of old school funk and soul with the Minneapolis Funk and Soul All-Stars:

Yeah, Baby. And for desert, the previously OB&B featured 4onthefloor:

It’s going to be a great night of great music celebrating a great radio station. If you haven’t listened to the Current before, check out their streams of the station on their local stream too.

I was very excited to receive the new Mumford &Sons album, Babel, for Christmas. I must admit, I was a bit nervous about this album – would I enjoy it as much as Sigh No More? Now that I’ve had a few weeks with it, I have to say I can’t stop listening to it! The song that jumped out at me right away wasn’t one of the singles they’ve released so far, but rather a song nestled in the middle of the album. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

I could not have been more thrilled when The Current announced that 4onthefloor would be playing at their 8th birthday party later this month. They have long been on my must-see list for Minneapolis bands simply because they rock. Word is there will be a new album for the new year, so if you enjoy this video, perhaps check out some other vids and wait for the new album like I will be doing myself.

But today we’d like to spotlight rapper P.O.S.. P.O.S. had a breakthrough year in 2012, but the year was also marked by the news that he would require a kidney transplant. Recent news suggests he will be having the transplant in 2013. But in the meantime he is only performing as much as his body will allow. He was able to rock the stage at Friday’s installment of the Doomtree Blowout, but according to Dessa he spent himself and is unable to perform on Saturday. We wish him well and hope he is ready to perform soon.

By now you have probably heard about the surprise of the 12/12/12 Sandy relief concert -the onstage jam between the surviving members of Nirvana (Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic and Pat smear) and Sir Paul McCartney. Since they closed the show (and the secret got out much earlier in the day) we had all night to speculate on what they would do. Would they play a Beatles or McCartney hit? Would they play a Nirvana song? No. What they played was an original number called “Cut Me Some Slack”, which we are happy to share with you.

Both of us really enjoyed this performance. We all know that Paul McCartney can rock. But it is especially pleasing to see him still able to do it. We are engaged in a debate about what to call this band; Macvana? Nirvacca? Wingvana? Whatever they are called we sincerely hope that they record more than just a single track. These boys are talented. They have quite a future ahead of them.